From Tokyo to Paris: Harry McNulty reflects on ‘the difference’ for Ireland

The Ireland men’s sevens team have come a long way in the three years since the postponed Tokyo Olympics. They only qualified for those Games a month before the event, whereas now they’re a genuine medal contender.

Ireland were consistently a top performer on the SVNS Series throughout the 2023/24 season which included a runners-up finish in Singapore. They finished the regular season in second, only two points behind League Winners Argentina.

With captain Harry McNulty leading the way, the likes of Terry Kennedy and Jordon Conroy have cemented their place as both icons and superstars of rugby sevens. The Irish have also called in 15s fullback Hugo Keenan for their shot at a medal at the Paris Games.

This is a team that boasts world-class talent across the board. Ireland showed that on the opening day at Stade de France with confidence-building wins over South Africa and Japan as they go into day two with a chance of topping the pool.

“Yeah, so much fine. It’s amazing to have a full crowd at such an amazing stadium,” Harry McNulty said on the Olympics broadcast, as seen on Stan Sport in Australia.

“I think we’ve really relished, like the last year that we’ve known we’ve qualified which was so different to Tokyo, we qualified a month before.

“We were able to get a really good World Series under our belts and then we came over to France, we were in Tour where the 15s were based (during last year's Rugby World Cup). We were so calm, collected and enjoyed every moment of it.

“Coming into the village as well which has been so nice and really exciting, and all our friends and family are here. It’s amazing.”

The difference between Tokyo and Paris, as McNulty explained and went on to elaborate, is how settled and prepared this team feels. They haven’t had to contend with a last-month bid at qualifying for the Games while also navigating through the challenges of a pandemic.

Ireland spent 10 days in Japan three years ago, which included their time playing at Tokyo Stadium. But comparing then to now, McNulty pointed out the Irish spent more days training in the French city of Tours as a warmup for the Games.

“I know every team in this competition can beat everybody and it was seen on the World Series this year already.

“We have to respect everybody, not that we wouldn’t but you just have to make sure that you’re on top of your game in every game. They’re going to be so close.

“(During Covid) half of that was spent at home lifting weights in our living rooms, going for runs in parks that you could find and hoping that your schedule works with someone else’s.

“After you qualified, it was this whirlwind… we were in Tokyo for 10 days altogether while we played. We were in Tour for longer than that just to warmup for this tournament.

“You get to this peak which is to qualify and then, ‘Oh my God, we need to get to that again.’

“Whereas this time… we’ve been able to let that simmer, settle down, build, build, build and now we’re back into this moment. That’s the difference – more subconscious more than anything.”

Ireland will take on rivals New Zealand for a shot at coming out on top in Pool A. New Zealand are also undefeated after beating the same two sides, but they’ll want to keep that momentum going ahead of the quarter-finals.

The Irish have only beaten the Kiwis once on the sevens circuit and that was last December in Cape Town. Since then, they’ve played out some epic battles, including the previously mentioned Singapore Cup Final which went down to the wire.